Earlier this month the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “CDC” Updates recommendations Covid-19 Specifically targeting the elderly and people with serious underlying medical conditions, they described this group as “most at risk”.
However, another group of people may be particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 And they did not receive the same attention:
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People who smoke regular cigarettes
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People who smoke electronic cigarettes
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People with substance use disorders.
“The research community should be alert to the possibility of an infection,” wrote Dr. Nora Volko, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse in a leaflet. [Covid-19] To some people who suffer from particular substance use disorders. “
Because, Volco said Covid-19 It attacks the lungs, and those who smoke tobacco or marijuana or who use it vape They may be particularly threatened.
“When a person’s lungs are exposed to influenza or other infections, the harmful effects of smoking or fumigation are much more serious than among people who do not smoke,” said Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California.
And continued, “Glantz”: “The smoking of electronic cigarettes affects your lungs at every level, and affects the immune function in the nasal cavity by affecting the cilia that push bad things out, making the ability of your upper air ducts to remove viruses weak.”
She mentioned CDC On Wednesday, young people under the age of 44 make up a large part of hospitals Covid-19 In the United States, Galantz is wondering whether the e-cigarette epidemic has contributed to this.
Concerns about other medications
Besides smoking and electronic cigarettes, the researchers said that people who abuse opioids and methamphetamine may be at risk of serious complications from Covid-19 Because of the effects of these drugs on respiratory and pulmonary health.
“Folko” reported that opioids slow breathing and have already been shown to increase the death rate in people with respiratory diseases, and impair the lung capacity of COVID-19 These people could be at risk.
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